The recent controversy over the Automated Enforcement System (AES) project which is grossly in favour of two companies is just one of many lopsided deals exposed by the new government.

The AES revelations come in the wake of other allegedly bloated projects such as the RM110 bil High Speed Rail (HSR), the RM55 bil East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), the RM5.35 bil Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) and the RM4.06 bil Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP).

The government is halting these mega projects so as not to incur further losses. As it is, the cancellations will be a huge burden on taxpayers. The estimated net loss to the government for the cancellation of the ECRL is RM19.68 bil, the MPP, RM4.71 bil and the TSGP, RM3.54 bil. That’s nearly RM28bil down the drain for just three projects!

Just look at the AES deal. According to Transport Minister Anthony Loke, the two companies for the project, Syarikat ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd which were appointed in 2012, were given a lopsided deal in their favour. They installed 47 cameras for RM10 mil but were said to have raked in at least RM129 mil in revenue, almost 13 times their initial investment.